Library

Whenever the feet and the popliteal fossa (area behind the knee) itch, and scratching produces yellow exudate, it is called Wind Abscess (Feng Ju). The treatment formula: Take one green bamboo tube, one and a half cun in diameter and three chi long. Place one sheng of soybeans in the middle of the tube. Burn rice bran and horse manure as fuel beneath the tube to distill the juice, collecting the liquid from both ends of the tube with vessels. First, wash the sore with warm water mixed with salt and lye (fermented rice water), then apply the bean juice. It will be extremely effective within no more than three applications.

Another prescription: Chew sesame seeds and apply them to the affected area. Wrap with cotton cloth, changing once daily; this is highly effective.

Fangfeng Tang (Saposhnikovia Decoction): Treats wind-toxin invading the human body, stagnating in the blood vessels without dispersing, clashing with Ying-Wei (Nutritive and Defensive Qi), resulting in the formation of Wind Abscess. Symptoms include bodily restlessness and heat, dizziness, swelling, and pain.

Ingredients: Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia Radix, fork removed), Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix, sprouts removed), Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix), Mutong (Akebiae Caulis, chopped), Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, sliced, dried by heat), Qianghuo (Notopterygii Rhizoma et Radix, rhizome removed), Mahuang (Ephedrae Herba, roots and nodes removed, boiled to skim foam, dried), Fuzi (Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata, processed, skin and navel removed), Jiegeng (Platycodonis Radix, stir-fried), Gancao (Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, honey-fried, each 1 liang).

Crush the above herbs into pieces the size of hemp seeds. For each dose, take 5 qian, add 1.5 sheng of water, decoct until reduced to 0.8 sheng, then strain. Take one dose after meals and one before bed; if sweating is desired, take both doses on an empty stomach, followed by hot ginger thin gruel, cover with blankets to induce sweating, and strictly avoid exposure to external wind.

Haitongpi San Soaked Wine Prescription: Treats heat-toxin and wind clumping to form abscesses, causing painful swelling and discomfort.

Ingredients: Haitongpi (Pseudosasa Caulis), Wujia Pi (Acanthopanacis Cortex, each chopped), Duhuo (Angelicae Pubescentis Radix, rhizome removed), Yiyiren (Coicis Semen, stir-fried), Fangfeng (Saposhnikovia Radix, fork removed), Ganxie (Scorpio, stir-fried), Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex, rough bark removed), Niuxi (Achyranthis Bidentatae Radix, sprouts removed, soaked in wine, each 1 liang), Shengdihuang (Rehmanniae Radix, dried by heat, 3 liang).

Chop the herbs, store in a raw silk bag, and soak in 1.5 dou of good wine in a porcelain bottle, sealed tightly. In autumn and summer, soak for three days; in spring and winter, soak for seven days, then retrieve. Before meals, take 3 or 4-5 he of warm wine, at any time. For severe cases, take continuously.

The *Ling Shu* states: When occurring above and below the foot, it is called Si Yin (Four Licentiousnesses). Its appearance is a large carbuncle; if not treated urgently, death occurs within one hundred days. When occurring on the side of the foot, it is called Li Yong (Malignant Carbuncle). Its appearance is not large, initially starting from the little toe; treat urgently to remove it. If the lesion appears black, it cannot dissipate and will increase; if untreated, death occurs within one hundred days.

[Xue Ji] The syndrome of Jiao Fa (Foot Erysipelas/Carbuncle) belongs to the Foot Three Yin Meridians, caused by deficiency of essence and blood, or damp-heat pouring downward from the Foot Three Yang Meridians. If the color is red, swollen, painful, and suppurates, it belongs to damp-heat pouring downward and is treatable. If the color is slightly red and slightly swollen, with clear pus, it belongs to deficiency of essence and blood and is difficult to treat. If the color is dark/black, without swelling or pain, without suppuration, accompanied by irritability, heat, thirst, and dribbling urination, it is a malignant sign indicating terminal failure of Yin, which is incurable. For damp-heat pouring downward, first use Garlic-Separated Moxibustion, then administer Huoming Yin (Life-Saving Decoction) to resolve toxic stagnation, followed by Yiqi Tang (Qi-Boosting Decoction) and Liuwei Wan (Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia) to tonify essence and qi. If the color is dark and painless, use Flesh-Adhering Moxibustion and Mulberry Branch Moxibustion to unblock stagnation and assist yang qi, further using Shiquan Dabu Tang (Comprehensive Great Tonifying Decoction) and Bawei Wan (Eight-Ingredient Pill) to strengthen the spleen and stomach and nourish the source of transformation; many recover. If one only treats the sore while damaging the healthy qi, I have never seen survival.

Grand Secretary Jin Jian'an had itching and weeping between his toes, swelling to the dorsum of the foot. Topical anti-itch medicines were ineffective, and damp-draining agents worsened the condition. I diagnosed it as yin-deficiency with damp-heat pouring downward and cured him with Liuwei Dihuang Wan (Six-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia) and Buzhong Yiqi Tang (Center-Supplementing Qi-Boosting Decoction).

Grand Councilor Li Beixi had red, swollen, and painful left foot, due to damp-heat pouring downward in the Foot Three Yang Meridians. He first received Garlic-Separated Moxibustion and one dose of Huoming Yin, which immediately stopped the pain. Moxibustion on the lesion produced exudate, and the redness and swelling subsided instantly. He then took four doses of Tuoli Xiaodu San (Interior-Supporting Toxin-Resolving Powder); moxibustion on the lesion produced pus, leading to recovery.

Scholar Yang Juyuan suffered from this, with slight swelling, pain, and redness, due to yin-deficiency and damp-heat pouring downward in the Foot Three Yin Meridians. He used Garlic-Separated Moxibustion and Tuoli San (Interior-Supporting Powder) to promote maturation, Shiquan Dabu Tang to generate pus, and Jiabian Bawei Wan (Modified Eight-Ingredient Pill) material, taking over a hundred doses until healing.

Another scholar suffered from this, with hard, white swelling for over two months, due to deficiency of the Foot Three Yin Meridians invaded by external cold. He used Da Fangfeng Tang (Major Saposhnikovia Decoction) and Shiquan Dabu Tang concurrently, leading to resolution. Later, due to examination failures, dietary irregularities, and fatigue, the previous symptoms recurred with night sweats, internal heat, indigestion, loose stools, and emaciation. This indicated spleen-earth deficiency-cold and mingmen fire failing to generate support. He took Bawei Wan and Yiqi Tang for over a hundred doses; fortunately, being young, he recovered.

A man suffered from heat in the soles of his feet and excessive thirst. Others prescribed Siwu Tang (Four-Substance Decoction) along with Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), Huangbai (Phellodendri Cortex), and Zhimu (Anemarrhenae Rhizoma). This led to abdominal pain, vomiting, irritability, heat, and extreme thirst. This was deficiency of the Foot Three Yin Meridians, and the previous medicines further damaged the spleen and stomach. He first took Liujun Zi Tang (Six-Gentlemen Decoction) with Paojiang (Prepared Ginger) for several doses to restore spleen-stomach function, then Buzhong Yiqi Tang with Fuling (Poria) and Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) to strengthen the spleen and stomach, followed by Jiabian Bawei Wan (Modified Eight-Ingredient Pill) taken concurrently for half a year until recovery.

A scholar suffered from heat and itching in the soles of his feet. He soaked them in boiling water, causing ulceration and weeping. His body became emaciated ("standing like bones"), with thirst and expectoration. This was spleen-kidney deficiency with water overflowing to form phlegm. He took Yiqi Tang and Liuwei Wan for over a year; his healthy qi recovered, and all symptoms resolved.

Vice Minister Gu Dongjiang had a sallow complexion and thirst. I said: "This is kidney meridian deficiency; you should nourish the source of transformation to prevent future complications." Although he agreed verbally, he ultimately did not take medicine. In September of the following year, he developed an abscess on the dorsum of his left foot, dark in color and painless, with heavy legs. He underwent over thirty moxa cones of Garlic-Separated Moxibustion, after which his legs felt lighter, and the sore bled fluid, resolving in a few days. However, the sore remained dark. At that time, he was preparing to travel north to congratulate the Emperor's birthday. I examined his pulse and said: "The spleen pulse is weak and exhausted, and yang qi is extremely deficient; long-distance travel is inadvisable." He replied: "My dreams have often come true; previously I dreamed of immortals awaiting me, which is a sign of longevity." He fell critically ill at Hexi Juxiantang and sighed: "Can Lizhai keep me alive?" He indeed died there, which was also an extraordinary event.